Can Grandparents Get Visitation Rights in Texas?

 Posted on April 23, 2022 in Family Law

One very common but unfortunate consequence of a Texas divorce is the severing of relationships between spouses and their in-laws. While the spouses themselves may not feel this is a bad thing, their children and the children’s grandparents are often negatively affected by the sudden disappearance of the time they spend together.

Grandparents play an important role in the love and nurturing of young children and when a sudden estrangement occurs, it can be heartbreaking for the grandparents and confusing and tragic for the children. If you are in this situation, there is hope - Texas recognizes that children often benefit from having a relationship with their grandparents, and, if it would be in the child’s best interests, it may be possible for grandparents to be awarded visitation with or even custody of their grandchild.

When Can I Get Visitation With My Grandchild?

Texas family courts are primarily concerned with understanding the child’s best interests and ensuring his or her family arrangements protect those interests. At times, this means courts will support a parent’s decision not to let the child visit with the grandparent. Other times, however, a sudden estrangement from a grandparent is sufficiently disruptive to the child’s life that visitation would clearly be in the child’s best interests.

Grandparents hoping to get visitation or custody have to prove that certain situations exist, including, but not limited to:

• The parents are divorced
• The parent abuses or neglects the child
• The child lived with the grandparent for at least six months in the past
• At least one of the child’s parents still has parental rights
• One of the child’s parents is dead, imprisoned for the past three months, found to be incompetent, or does not have court-ordered custody of the child
• Not visiting with the grandparent would significantly impair the child’s wellbeing

Keep in mind that even if one of the above is true, it does not guarantee the right to visitation; it merely allows grandparents the right to make the request. Although you are not required to have an attorney to petition a court for visitation with a grandchild, understanding the best argument for your case and how to collect evidence showing one of the above is true is much easier when you have competent legal representation.

Schedule a Consultation with a Fort Worth Visitation Lawyer

The experienced Fort Worth grandparent visitation attorneys with Clark Law Group know how important your relationship with your grandchild is and how devastating it can be to lose contact with your grandchild because of their parent’s divorce. If you are interested in trying to pursue visitation rights, consider scheduling a consultation with one of our knowledgeable attorneys by calling us now at 469-906-2266.

Source:

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.153.htm#153.433